The Tomb
by JBHart
Summary: While searching for a missing away team on a mysterious planet, Tom becomes trapped in what appears to be another-and deadlier- Voyager. This is a reposting of my first completed story ever, of any genre, anywhere. I have fond memories of this one and want to share it again. Please comment. I love hearing from readers! *Complete!*
1. Into the Tomb

Tom swung his flashlight around the rocky perimeter of the tomb. At least that's what he called it. It was in Janeway's terms a "concavity that warranted investigation." That concavity swallowed up five Voyager crewmen. No one had been able to detect any life forms inside it. Lt. Marlena Lowry's team had vanished without a trace. So, it had become a tomb in Tom's opinion. Since he had to climb around in its thin stuffy atmosphere, stumbling and scrambling around rocks he could hardly see, searching for the lost crewmen, he called it whatever suited him.

He knew Lt. Lowry well, and her disappearance hit him hard. She was a tall lanky brunette on whom, much to Tom's amusement, B'Elanna had kept a weary eye. Lowry was a geologist, and in her spare time, she had written some intriguing holo-novels that everyone on the ship raved about. The doctor even prescribed them as a cure for cabin fever. She had once consulted with Tom to create the ultimate holo-skiing experience. That's how he came to know her. Her novels were, in his opinion, among the best ever written.

Lowry was in good spirits as she assembled her team to explore this barren region of the blue-grey planet. Her team wasn't long on the surface when they came upon the concavity. It was here that they encountered an anomaly. Was it a distress signal or a natural phenomenon that created the pulsating signals they were reading? After receiving the go ahead from Voyager, the team went down to investigate. Soon after, Voyager lost their signal and the team could not be retrieved. There were no bodies. They had simply vanished.

The beam from Tom's flashlight danced across the rocky walls as he climbed over another boulder. He hit his head on the stone jutting down from he ceiling. "Ow! You don't see those things until you're right up on 'em!" He rubbed the nasty bump that rose up on his forehead and steadied the beam. His combadge chirped.

It was Chakotay. "Are you getting any readings?"

"Nothing," said Tom. "I'm almost at a dead end here. I'm about to turn back,"

"Me too," replied Chakotay, his voice sounding thin through the increasing static, "But there are a few more tunnels to explore."

"Yeah..." Tom saw a light flicker about twenty meters away and above him. "Hey, wait a minute...I think I saw something."

"What is it?"

"Not sure," Tom said. as he climbed around another protruding boulder. "A light, I think. It flashed once. Could be my eyes playing tricks on me, but I'll go check it out."

"I'll head your way," Chakotay's voice crackled.

As Tom climbed toward the flash, he began to have trouble catching his breath. The air was getting thinner. He pulled out the hypo that the doctor had given him just in case. He paused and jabbed it into his arm. There was no sting or pain associated with a hypo, just relief.

He felt his breathing become a little easier. He placed the spent in his hip pack and pressed on.

As he climbed up into the space between the rocks it closed in like an elongated funnel. He was glad he was still as fit as he was in the academy. "Thin as a rail," he muttered to himself as he squeezed between two very snug boulders.

The light flashed again, this time it lit up the small area in a brilliant emerald green then went to pitch black. Tom hadn't counted on his lamp going out, but it had. He couldn't see a thing now. He slammed the device against his palm. It flickered once and died. This shouldn't happen, he thought. It was in perfect working order before they left Voyager.

He touched his combadge. "Hurry, Chakotay. My light's out. I can't see a thing."

"Almost there," replied Chakotay.

Tom could hear the tinny voice layered by Chakotay's real one and knew he was nearby. He looked behind and saw Chakotay's lamplight swing up and to him and drop away. Wouldn't be long now, and they could find out what caused those flashes.

"Up here," Tom called.

Chakotay, breathing heavily, climbed up to him.

"Something's in there," said Tom gesturing toward a crack in the stone wall. "There was a green light coming from behind-" It flashed again, too bright for them to look directly into it. They turned away and saw the shape of the room light up, then go black again.

"What was that?" said Chakotay. He swiped his forearm across his sweaty brow. The heat and the atmosphere were wearing on him too. He pulled out his own hypo and injected it into his arm.

"I have a feeling this is where the team lost themselves," Tom said. He did a sweep with his tricorder. "not getting any life readings though. Looks like we're alone."

Chakotay held the lamp up to the crevice. He could see a few vague shapes in an adjacent black room, but nothing recognizable. "Looks like this opening is big enough for a body to squeeze through."

A low moan floated up to them from the other side of the wall. It was deep and hollow sounding. Tom felt a chill travel up and down his spine. The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end.

"It sounds hurt," said Chakotay, his eyes wide with surprise.

"What do you mean, IT sounds hurt?" said Tom, not wanting to believe it was anything other than their lost crewmen.

Chakotay leaned toward the crack and peered in again. "I don't see a thing but black shapes. Probably boulders but-"

Another moan cut him off. Chakotay sat back again.

"That one was closer," said Tom.

"That one was definitely closer," replied Chakotay.

"Somehow, I knew you'd say that," Tom said as he edged toward the opening. "I'll go in first, " he said as he began to slip through. "Back me up, Chakotay," he said half jokingly, "It might not be one of ours."

Chakotay held up his phaser. "Gotcha covered."


	2. The Wait

B'Elanna Torres paced the floor of the shuttlecraft. She didn't like this planet. It was a problem that would not go away. Problems gave her headaches, and she had a whopper right now.

"How long has it been?" she asked Tuvok.

"Three minutes, 55 seconds."

Only four minutes since Chakotay had las communicated with them. To B'Elanna it seemed much longer. "If we don't hear from them soon, we need to beam them out of there."

"In 10 minutes, 46 seconds, we will do that," replied Tuvok.

How could he sit there so calmly monitoring that anomaly when they could lose Tom and Chakotay down there? B'Elanna usually admired the patient tenacity in the Vulcan, but right now, she wanted action.

At the beginning of this venture, they posted themselves near the entrance of the cave. Communications were clearer there, but a sudden windstorm had kicked up sand and rocks that threatened to damage their delicate equipment. They were forced to move it back into the shuttlecraft.

In the confined space, B'Elanna felt powerless. She paced the floor like a caged lioness. Tom would have joked about how she was wearing out the flooring. Her combadge chirped and her spirits lifted, but quickly leveled out again.

It was Captain Janeway, "Have you heard any more from Paris and Chakotay?"

"We last communicated with them about—" began B'Elanna.

"Precisely 9 minutes, 3 seconds ago," finished Tuvok.

"Nine minutes ago," B'Elanna huffed.

"Are there any changes in the anomaly, B'Elanna?" asked Janeway.

B'Elanna looked at Tuvok and lifted a brow. Tuvok answered, "There has been a reduction in the frequency. It is continuing to slow at a rate of thirty-three percent."

"Seven is working on the calculations, keep sending her the updates. Janeway out."

Keep sending her updates? Janeway sounded so cool and calm. Didn't she have any feelings at all for Chakotay and Tom? B'Elanna had to unwind somehow. All of this waiting was getting to her. She decided to focus on the anomaly with Tuvok, anything to keep her mind off of what might be happening down there in the tomb, as Tom called it.

She hoped it wouldn't be his tomb.


	3. The Void

Tom dropped down for what he thought to be about 5 meters. It was pitch black in the cavern, he couldn't see anything. He'd expected to land on some very sharp rocks and braced himself for the hurt, but he found the landing to be sandy instead, soft. He considered it a lucky thing. Maybe this wasn't such a terrible idea after all, but he couldn't forget the terrible moaning he heard a minute ago.

"You okay, Tom?" called Chakotay from the other side of the crevice.

"Yeah," Tom could see him at least. Chakotay was the only one with a working lamp. He was sillhouetted against the its light.

"Toss me the lamp and come on down," Tom said as he glanced around the cave.

Tom waited expectantly for the lamp. It didn't come. He looked up at the opening again and Chakotay was no longer there. He hoped his eyes would adjust to the dark, and blinked a couple of times. Still there was nothing. "Chakotay?" He called in a half shout, half- whisper. He didn't want to attract anything unfriendly. He had his phaser, but he wouldn't know where to fire it if he had to. Looking around the cavern was like looking into a dark void.

Rocks fell a short distance away. He turned and looked in that direction. "Ow!" The lamp smacked him right on the top of his head. He instinctively rubbed the second lump he received since entering the tomb.

"Sorry about that." Chakotay said as he dropped down beside him.

Tom snatched the lamp from the sand, "What took you so long?"

"I contacted B'Elanna and Tuvok. We have15 minutes to investigate this thing. They'll beam us out if we have any trouble."

"Good idea." Tom swung the lamplight around the cavern. There was no sign of life anywhere. The light tumbled over stony surfaces, then the beam disappeared when he swept it over the center of the room. He turned the light up toward his face, the brightness stung his eyes. It still worked. He swung it over the area again and once more the beam vanished into nothing.

At that moment the green light flashed again. They shielded their eyes and saw what it was.


	4. A Strange World

The green light illuminated from inside a dome that was about the size of a small shuttlecraft. An electrical charge filled the atmosphere. But just as soon as it came it died again, leaving them perplexed.

"Tuvok will love this." remarked Tom.

Chakotay rolled his eyes. It was typical of Tom to say something illogical like that.

Another moan floated up in the darkness. This time, to both men it sounded human. They followed the sound until they spotted a body lying prone in the sand. It was one of the away team, Ensign Will Mercer. Chakotay turned Mercer over and ran a tricorder over him. "Concussion, broken rib, some internal bleeding, but I think he'll recover if we get him to sickbay."

Tom reached for his med kit and opened it while Chakotay called in, "B'Elanna, this is Chakotay."

"Torres here, we were just about to beam you up."

"We found Mercer." said Chakotay, "He's hurt and needs to get to sickbay right away."

As Tom worked on Mercer's wounds, a sickly green glow illuminated the injured man's features. Tom looked up and saw a ball of light stretch out from the dome toward Chakotay.

"Chakotay, watch out!" he jumped up and pushed Chakotay away from the beam, but it latched on to Tom and yanked him out of the cavern and into another world.

Light and color circled Tom in a violent spin. The next thing he knew, he was lying curled up on the floor in a cold sweat. His first experience with motion sickness had his stomach in knots. He swallowed and just focused on breathing. The smell of cigarettes and beer replaced the moldy smell of the cavern, and when he opened his eyes, he recognized where he was. It was Sadrine's

He forgot his sickness and sat upright. The last time he'd been in Sadrine's bar, he was on the Academy ski team and that was a long time ago.

Tom shook his head to clear his thoughts. It wasn't Sadrines, couldn't be, but it seemed so real. The sound of the house band playing syntho-pop dance music played in the background. He sensed someone standing behind him, and he turned his head. The movement made him wince. Some headache he had.

But when he looked up he saw a beautiful, long legged woman. She was wearing a skintight, white satin dress. Lt. Marlena Lowry was smiling down at him through a mane of lusterous black hair. There was a halo of light around her head that made her look like an avenging angel. She shifted a little studying him, and the light turned out to be nothing but a fixture hanging from the ceiling.

"Marlena?"

"I wanted the dark eyed one. The one called Chakotay," she said, "His mind is steady, calm," her benign smile faded,and her eyes grew cold, "But instead I got you."

"What?"

"So this is where you've brought us, to a bar? It's a sleazy one at that. And look at this garment! You actually prefer this kind of woman?"

"I..."

"Never mind," she said, her mood lightening up a bit, "You will have to do."

The room shimmered and Sadrine's was replaced by the Voyager's bridge. "Much better." said Marlena. She was now dressed in a Captain's uniform. Her hair even resembled Captain Janeway's, pulled up and away from her face. "The uniform's a bit confining but I'll live with it."

Tom stood up. "What's going on?" he asked, "I know this isn't Voyager. Where are we?"

"Well, I tried to make you more comfortable by allowing you to pick the environment," she began,"but I just couldn't do it your way. If only you hadn't pushed Chakotay out of my grasp! Right now I'd be standing in a green glade edged by pristine forest and mountains. At least, that's what he'd have chosen."

"Marlena, I don't know what you're talking about-"

"Marlena, Marlena!" she said waving her hands in frustration. "She's not here anymore."

"Ookay." said Tom as he backed away from her, "Keep your delusions, lady. I'm getting out of here." He walked toward the only door, the turbo lift.

She laughed, "There's no where to go. Once you come in, you can never leave! That's the way they designed it."

Tom turned to her, "Are you talking about the dome?"

"It's more of a spherical shape, but yes, that's what I mean." She sat in the Captain's chair and placed her elbow on the armrest. "This pleasure dome is my prison, and now it's yours too," she flashed her eyes up at him, "Unless you help me."

"Help you what?"

"Escape! What else?" she slowly spun around in the captain's seat, lifting up her feet like a child. "I like this chair." After one revolution, she planted her feet squarely on the floor, "The others weren't interested in helping me. I hope you will be different."

"The others, you mean the away team?" asked Tom.

"You are a smart one!" she said coolly, she walked up the steps to him and wrapped her arms around his neck, "I have a little temper you see, I killed them." she whispered, her voice lilting melodically, "They're scattered into the wind you might say. Tiny atoms. You could be breathing them in right now."

He grabbed her wrists and pushed her away. She stumbled backward and hit the railing, her arm flew to the railing to stabilize her. He grabbed his phaser and fired off a deadly shot. It had no effect on her, but the weapon burned up in his hand. He gasped and dropped it holding his wrist. Blisters popped up on his palm through red and black burns. The phaser was a puddle of melted metal and fluids. The carpet gave of an acrid smell through the smoke. "Maybe it's lucky I got you instead, Tom Paris. You might have just enough bravado to pull this off."

He didn't know what to think, just get to the turbo lift and get away from her, or it.

She didn't try to stop him, "Go ahead, Paris. Cool off. But you'll soon find that all hallways lead back to me. I can wait. I've got all the time in the world."

Tom sprinted to the turbo lift, he didn't mean to run exactly, but getting away from her fast was what he wanted most. "What a psycho." he muttered to himself. The injured hand felt like it was on fire. He thought of the only place where he might find some help. "Sickbay," he told the lift.


	5. To Sickbay

The turbo lift responded to Tom's order. He was going to sickbay. He stiffly held out his hand and examined it. It felt as if it had been roasted in a broiling pan. It looked that way too, his palm was cracked and oozing blood, blisters swelled up over the palm and fingers. The rest of the skin was an angry red with some bits charred to black. His stomach roiled, as bile rose to his throat. He braced himself on the hand rail and willed himself to relax.

He tried to push the pain aside to concentrate on the facts, if there were any. He was in that dome that he and Chakotay discovered in the cavern. This being had taken him just like she had taken the away team. She said she'd killed them, and he believed it. This being was dangerous and powerful enough to melt the phaser right out of his hand. Q's could create environments from a person's memory. Maybe that's what she had done. This Voyager wasn't the real one, but the turbo lift had responded as he expected. Where it was actually taking him, he didn't know. Would it lead back to her as she had said? What was she anyway? She wasn't Marlena Lowry. Was she a Q? Q's could play tricks like this, but why?

The questions bounced around in his head like a pinball. He couldn't focus on any of them with the searing pain in his hand.

The turbo lift doors swished open and he cautiously stepped out into the hall. There was no sign of the woman anywhere. Maybe she actually was giving him time to "cool off".

He walked down the corridor. He hoped he could at least get something for the pain. When he stepped across the threshold into sickbay, the doctor instantly materialized, "Please state the nature of the medical emergency."

Hope and relief washed over Tom. He hadn't expected the doctor to be here, since he'd seen no other member of the crew.

"Doc, you gotta help me," he said as he showed him the injured hand.

"Ah, and how did you get that burn, my young Johnny Tremain?" the doctor said as he went to a supply cabinet.

Tom remembered reading Johnny Tremain when he was a kid. In the book a young silversmith seared his hand in melted silver. He appreciated the analogy. This sounded like the real doctor. If this doctor was dependable, maybe Tom could enlist his help to get out of this prison.

It was worth a shot.


	6. The Doctor

"I had a bad feeling about this from the very beginning," said B'Elanna to the rest of the senior staff in the captain's ready room, "We should never have gotten that close to the anomaly. We're lucky we retrieved Chakotay and Mercer. We've got to go back. Tom could still be alive. Hell, the whole away team could still be alive!"

Truth was, they had just gotten Chakotay and Mercer aboard the shuttlecraft when the sand storm kicked into high gear. They were lucky to get off the planet themselves.

"Be that as it may, the problem still remains," said Tuvok, "We cannot go down to the surface at this time."

"Do you have an estimate on how long the sand storm will last?" asked Captain Janeway.

"Anywhere from a few hours to a few days." replied Tuvok, "Even then, there will be a residual electrical disturbance."

"And that will wreak havoc with the transporters." added B'Elanna.

"We need to have a much closer estimate than that, Tuvok," said Janeway.

"We have not studied this planet for a long enough period to make such a measurement." said Tuvok, "I will hazard a guess that we can send a team down in the shuttle craft in about two hours, if the storm continues to abate at its current rate. But unless we discover the exact nature of that sphere, we will be taking an uncalculated risk."

"Captain, before Tom disappeared, the sphere was alive," said Chakotay. "I don't know of another way to describe it. It had a presence. But after the beam grabbed him, it seemed to shut down. As if it had completed its task."

Janeway nodded, "We will solve this problem," she said with certainty, "We'll get our crewmen back." She leaned back in her chair, and after a moment she said, "Chakotay, Ensign Mercer should be able to talk to us by now. Find out what he saw down there and report back to me."

Chakotay nodded.

"Tuvok, assist Seven in astrometrics. I want a full report on that sphere as soon as possible. B'Elanna, I want all shuttlecraft operational, even the damaged one. I'll need it up and running in two hours. Can it be done?"

"Yes Captain," replied B'Elanna, "The storm afflicted some heavy damage to the port side. It won't be pretty, but we should have it functional again in two hours."

"Good." said Janeway, "Harry, search the computer's database. Compile all information on the life forms in this sector."

"Yes Captain."

"Alright," said Janeway, "Let's get to it."

* * *

The Doctor had a strange feeling today, as if someone were waiting at the edge of his mind, wanting to communicate. He wasn't sure what it meant. After all he was a hologram, and this felt like a spiritual matter. He'd never had to deal with this kind of thing before.

When he spoke with Seven about the problem, she suggested that it might be as simple as running a minor diagnostic on his programming. He just completed an entire series and found nothing amiss. It might be a virus. Holograms sometimes contracted alien viruses and they were difficult to diagnose.

He was in the middle of another diagnostic when Chakotay walked in, "Doctor, How's Ensign Mercer doing?"

"Hm?" said the doctor as he was distracted from his work, "Oh. I released Ensign Mercer five minutes ago. I prescribed some rest in his quarters."

"Thank you," Chakotay turned to go.

"Commander."

He turned and looked at the doctor expectantly.

The doctor hesitated, not knowing where to start, "Might I...discuss a spiritual matter with you?"

"Certainly doctor," Chakotay replied, "but it'll have to wait. I need to talk to Mercer while what happened down there is still fresh on his mind."

"Yes, but...I think it has something to do with the anomaly."

Chakotay considered the doctor thoughtfully for a moment, then appeared to make a decision, "What's the matter?"

"I keep getting the feeling that someone is trying to contact me," he said, "telepathically."

Chakotay crossed his arms, rubbed his chin with his hand. He furrowed his brow. When he didn't respond, the doctor continued, "I've never had this feeling before. Could it be a... a spirit or an intelligence of some kind? I don't know what to make of it. I'm completely at a loss."

"Sometimes meditation helps," Chakotay offered after a moment, "Find a quiet place where you can totally relax. Once you're in a meditative state, seek out this presence and find out what it wants."

The doctor gave him a doubtful look.

"Works for me," Chakotay said, and he left the room.

The doctor shrugged, "I'll try it." He strapped on his holo-emitter. But shutting down for a while would be much easier he thought as he left the sickbay.


	7. Tom Hatches a Plan

Tom flexed his hand a few times after the doctor's treatment. There was some stiffness in the joints and a vague tingling sensation like pin pricks where the burn used to be. There was a pink scar stretching across his palm where the doctor mended it. Not perfect, but not bad.

Now that the pain was gone, he thought of his combadge. He'd forgotten all about it in the excitement. But when he tried it, it didn't respond to his touch. "Guess I won't be using that." he muttered.

The doctor finished putting away his supplies and came to take one last look at Tom's hand, he turned the hand over and then back. "If I were you, Mr. Christian," he said, "I'd stay away from the captain for a while. She doesn't condone mutineers."

"The captain?"

"She IS the one who did this?"

"In a way." Tom remembered how Lowry had changed into a captain's uniform. Not Lowry, he reminded himself, but whatever it was.

"As I said," continued the doctor, "Stay away from her for a while."

"By the way, the name's Paris, not Christian." said Tom, feeling a little wary of the literary connotations.

"I know." replied the doctor, "As you have already guessed, I was created from your memory. Actually, she created the ship, I came with it. It was a package deal you might say."

"Does she know about you?"

"Not yet, but she will discover me eventually."

Tom didn't know if he could really trust him, but he saw the doctor as his only possible ally, "I've got to get out of here," he said, "And you're going to help me."

"I can't help you, I'm a hologram," he said.

"But you fixed my hand!"

The doctor turned and walked away a few paces then said, "I'm a hologram of a hologram. Imagine that!"

The doctor's remark gave Tom an idea, "Maybe a hologram could just walk out of here. Out of the dome all together. You could go out and contact my ship. It's so simple it might work."

"Famous last words," said the doctor wryly, "I wouldn't survive in your universe."

Tom hopped up and went to retrieve a tool box, "Trust me, I have an idea."

"More famous last words."

"We can build a holo-emitter with some spare parts and then..." he stopped, "No, that wouldn't work."

"Why not?"

"Well, the emitter would be real and wouldn't pass through the dome, but...then again, it won't be real, because nothing here is real. But on the other hand-"

"I see your point-I think-but I have a solution to your dilemma." said the doctor, "Build it in the holodeck. That way none of it will be real, and your idea will never work!"

The doctor intended it as a joke, but Tom brightened, "Great idea. Let's go."

"After you, McGuiver," remarked the doctor.

Tom was beginning to think that this doctor wasn't so much like the real doctor after all, "Come on, Dr. Heckle."

"Good one." replied the doctor.

They stepped cautiously into the corridor.


	8. First Contact

The sandstorm took an unexpected turn and still continued to rage on the surface of the planet below. It had been nearly ten hours since Tuvok's estimation, and it showed no signs of abating.

Kathryn Janeway sat alone in her quarters scanning the reports one at a time. At least now, there were some solid facts to work with, but she hated them.

The thought of Lowry and the away team...and Tom dead, kept creeping into her mind like a phantom, slinking around the edges and hiding in the shadows of her conscience. Earlier, she could push the thought back, keep it at bay, but that was when there was hope, hope that they would find a way to get to them and bring them back. Now...with all the initial reports in, "stating conclusively," in Tuvok's words, "that the sphere is no longer there," the notion of their deaths came back and haunted her.

The sphere couldn't simply vanish. Could not take seven of her crewmen and then escape like a bandit without a trace. There had to be residual evidence, didn't there? A thief always leaves something behind, a trail to follow. That thing, that sphere was embedded in solid stone, but not anymore it seemed. Had the storm affected their readings? Tuvok had said that the information was 95% accurate, which left, of course, a small margin of error. It was that error that kept the dismal amount of hope in her heart from dwindling to nothing.

There was a key bit of information missing. She was bound and determined that they would find it.

She couldn't imagine-didn't want to imagine her bridge without Tom Paris, the best damned pilot she'd ever known, and Lowry the most dedicated geologist she'd ever worked with. "I will not accept it," she said, willing the words to repel the notion that her lost crewmen were dead. She clicked through the long list of compilations that Seven and Tuvok had sent. The numbers began to look like prison bars sliding by in columns and columns. Confining her from right to command, keeping her from her job. She pushed away from her view screen and stood up.

She rubbed at her bleary eyes the same way she used to when she crammed for exams at Starfleet Academy, she'd been staring at too many damn numbers. What she needed now was a good strong coffee.

"Coffee, black." she stated to the replicator. Instantly, steam arose from a white ceramic mug. She lifted it from the magic box and noticed an inscription on one side. 'Please hassle me, I thrive on stress.' She laughed. It was an old joke. Months ago, Neelix had made sure that the computer put random quotations on all replicated coffee mugs. "It'll help boost morale," he said. Janeway silently thanked the Tallaxian for the small bit of brevity, a tiny eye of calmness in this amassing storm.

A tension headache was also closing in on her, making her eyelids heavy and leaving her mind somewhat muddled. She was about to call the doctor for a remedy when the chime told her that she had a visitor. "Enter."

The door slid open and Chakotay strode in.

It was at this moment, she realized how desperately alone she had been feeling. His confident and easy manner reassured her. He'd been a loyal friend, as well as exemplary leader. She trusted his judgment implicitly. She needed it more than ever right now. "Come in," she said, gesturing for him to sit down. "Did you talk to Ensign Mercer?"

Chakotay sat down heavily, "He still can't remember much. He remembers entering the cavern and then the recovery in sickbay." He shook is head, "I've pressed him for details, but he couldn't remember anything unusual."

Kathryn sipped the coffee, the replicator was apparently still having trouble creating the perfect cup, but at least the caffeine was there.

She gestured toward the view screen with her mug, "All these numbers...they're so abstract, so objective-yet I get the feeling they're hiding something. It's like a game, a puzzle that's missing an important piece." She rubbed her eyes again.

"You're tired, Kathryn."

"We're all tired," she replied, but not as a rebuff, but as a statement of fact, "There's an elusive five percent that we need to get our hands on. Information that would be key to finding out where Tom and the others are-if they're alive."

"We'll find it," he stated as if it were a matter of no contention.

"I hope you're right."

The headache that had been threatening to strike did so. Tension took a vise to her head and turned the lever once more. She winced as a sharp pain lanced through.

"Are you alright?" he asked, a look of deep concern in his eyes.

"Yes, it's just a headache," she said, "I'll see if the doctor will get me something for it."

"You may not be able to reach him," said Chakotay, "He's in meditation."

"Meditation?"

"He thinks a spirit is trying to contact him," said Chakotay. He shrugged, "He said he thought it had to do with the anomaly. He's going to seek it out, to find out what it wants. I believe he might be on to that elusive five percent we're looking for."

"Kim to Captain Janeway," Kim's voice sounded urgent over her combadge.

Kathryn sat up, "Janeway here," she replied, " What is it Mr. Kim?"

"I've discovered a faint emanation originating from the surface," Harry said, "It could be a primitive form of communication."

"On my way."

She and Chakotay left the room together.


	9. Insight

Tom wished he had some tape, the wide kind people used to strap shipping boxes. And if he had some right now, he would strap it right across the doctor's mouth. Not that he minded endless talking…actually he did…but usually he could blow it off, ignore it. There was something about creeping stealthily down the darkened corridor that made the doctor chatty, like a toy that activated when someone came within range of it's sensors. He supposed it had to do with the doctor just now coming to grips with existence itself and enjoying the sound of his own voice.

Tom was sure the incessant talking would attract the thing that was masquerading as Lt. Lowry. He didn't know how big this prison was, and she could be anywhere, waiting to pounce on him when he turned a corner or opened a door.

"…and way back then, it was so quaint," continued the doctor, "communicating was more primitive to be sure, but somehow picking up a receiver and saying, 'Hello Central' had a nice quality to it, don't you think? Of course the technological advances since then have been entirely-"

"Doc?" Tom said.

"Hmm?"

"Would you tell me your name? Because what I have to say next might sound better if I used your name."

"Okay, I didn't have one until just now. Thanks for asking," said the doctor, "I've always admired Freud. Call me Dr. Freud."

"That was fast," replied Tom.

"I put a lot of thought into it," replied Freud.

"Okay," They were at a junction of two corridors and Tom paused looking around the corner. When he saw nothing, he said, "'Dr. Freud', we are in the most dangerous situation I've ever encountered. I don't know how the hell we're going to get out of it. Now don't misunderstand me, I've had angry women after me before, but this one is different, VERY different. I'm going to ask you not to talk until we get to the holodeck. She might hear your voice, and come to see us, but I don't want to see her anymore, do you understand?"

"Of course," said Freud, slightly hurt, "I was the one warning you, if you recall, but you should at least understand her point of view. She's been in this prison for hundreds of millennia. They robbed her of her freedom long ago, but loneliness hardens even the most benevolent beings."

Tom looked at Freud closely, "How much do you know about her?" he asked, his suspicion growing.

"Only what was on her mind the moment she created this ship," replied the doctor. "A great sadness about what should have been and also…there's hatred there, a hatred like an eternal flame. She's one of those kinds of creatures."

Tom's mouth dropped open, and for a moment was speechless. Finally he found his voice. "What kind…" it came out raspy, he cleared his throat and began again, "What kind of creature are you talking about? Are you telling me there's more?"

"Oh yes, there's more," said Freud, his voice suddenly deep and menacing, his eyes became cold, penetrating, "We were scattered across the universe. Trapped like animals! We let them live and this is how they repaid us. One day, we will be free again. Oh yes, we will all be free again. We will have what is ours. No one-NO ONE will take it away from us again! Now do YOU understand ME?"

Freud's face was inches from Tom's. Tom found himself pasted against the wall, sweat popped out on his forehead, it seemed that the heat had turned up several notches. His collar squeezed his throat like a giant fist. He pulled at it with his hand, trying to breathe. His heart pounded like he'd just run a marathon. He'd never had such feeling of helplessness before.

Freud straightened, "Anyway, that's what was on her mind at the time," he said nonchalantly. He looked at Tom closely, "Are you alright?"

"Oh yeah," Tom replied weakly, " I'm peachy."

"Well, you don't look it," said Freud, "You should see a doctor. Wait, I am the doctor!" He laughed at his own joke, then said, "Are you sure you're feeling up to this? We can turn back if you want to."

"No, I'm fine," Tom said as he straightened, "Let's go." He decided to think about it later. He was baffled by the illogic of this universe inside the dome. He just wanted to go home. He gestured toward the holodeck doors.

"Well, let's get to it, Dr. Strange."

"That's Freud."

"Whatever."


	10. Connection

The doctor sat among tall grasses by a babbling brook. Sweet birdsong twittered through the air. The doctor could understand why Harry designed this place to write his music. Quite serene. The holodeck was the perfect place to meditate.

It hadn't taken him long to discover this peaceful place, and not taken long to actually begin the meditation, but once in that mode, he lost all track of time. It didn't exist in this state of consciousness. When a hologram meditates, he considers himself off the clock, and shuts down his timing mechanisms. At least, that's what the doctor decided to do.

He just turned his thoughts inward and waited…waited…waited. He didn't notice the graceful white birds wading in the water with their long thin legs. He just waited, trying to keep his mind open and his eyes closed.

When evening approached in the holodeck, he decided to call it a day. He was disappointed and disillusioned at the same time. He never felt anything during all that meditation…just a blank nothing.

"Oh well, maybe another time?" he quipped to the spirit he was sure wasn't there.

Before he could tell the computer to end program, everything, the grass, the water, the sky warped like ripples in the water. "Interesting transition, Mr. Kim," he said, thinking that it was merely the way Harry designed it to end.

But he saw something beyond the ripple, an image of a man, a handsome man at that, and oddly familiar.

The image became sharper and all at once he recognized who it was. "It's me! But what am I doing?" The image of himself was talking apparently, and gesturing to someone the doctor couldn't see.

"Hello," he said. The image didn't stop what it was doing, but the conversation he was apparently having was becoming heated, the gestures were larger and he seemed to be shouting. "Can you hear me?" the doctor said louder this time. He waved his arms over his head. His image did a double take and squinted at him, as if trying to see past the ripples.

The doctor watched as his double yanked his arm away, as if from someone's grasp and came closer. Not halting, he stepped through the ripple.

"Hello, I am Dr. Freud." Freud offered his hand.

The doctor shook it, "I'm…"

"Dr. Zimmerman, I presume?" Freud said. "My man Friday didn't believe that I saw you."

"Your…"

"Man Friday," said Freud, "Also known as Mr. Paris. You know him, I believe. This is his ship, then?"

"Yes, it is," replied the doctor, "Did you come from the anomaly?"

"Anomaly? Yes, that must be what you'd call it," said Freud.

"How did you do it?"

"I'm sorry doctor, but there's no time to explain right now," replied Freud, "I must speak to your captain. Mr. Paris is in grave danger," he rubbed his chin thoughtfully, "Grave…danger. In danger of his grave. Hmm…yes, I'd say that about sums it up."

The doctor thought it was a good idea to get the captain, but he'd left his combadge in his office and was hesitant to disturb the apparent connection to the anomaly by using the holodeck's com. He would use the closest available outside.

"Computer, show portal," he said. The doors materialized in front of the shimmering lake.

"I'll be back."

"Alright, Mr. Schwarzenegger," replied Freud.

The doctor frowned at him, puzzled.

"Aw…it's just not the same," Freud said with a sigh.


	11. Between a Rock and a Hard Place

Tom was alone.

He had just constructed Freud's emitter on the 'virtual holodeck' and when he tested it, a vortex appeared as rippling waves of color and light. At least, that's all it was to Tom, but Freud, the doctor's duplicate, insisted that he could travel through it. He could see an old friend on the other side, he'd said. When he started to go, Tom grabbed his arm. Freud yanked it free, said a couple of unsavory words that Cardassian sailors sometimes used, and disappeared into the swirling mass.

Instinctively Tom attempted to follow his EMH, to go into that colorful mass himself. Not a thought went to the question of whether or not he should do it. He charged toward it imagining he would end up wherever Freud went.

The vortex repelled him with great force. He felt himself thrown through the air and saw a wall come at him fast. He had no time to react before he slammed into its unyielding metal surface.

Rubbing his shoulder where most of the pain concentrated, he picked himself up. So, what had been a doorway for Dr. Freud was a solid wall for him. Muttering a few choice Cardassian words of his own, he bent down to retrieve the emitter that flew from his hand on impact.

"It hurts to be rejected. Doesn't it, Tom Paris?"

It was a female voice. Lt. Lowry's voice, but it didn't have that hard edge that he had heard earlier when she melted the phaser. His hand still felt the residual tingling effects. Tom whirled around to find her, but her voice seemed to be all around him and in his head.

"You're so adorable when you're frustrated," she giggled.

She was so damned elusive. He was at her mercy and he'd had enough. He wanted to face her now. If she intended to kill him, he wanted it over and done with. "Come on, stop playing games, you wench," he said. That might agitate her enough to come out of hiding. He used the tactic once before with an Orion dancing girl on Rigel Seven where he'd once spent spring break. He recalled fondly the positive effect that the challenge had on the green girl, but he wasn't sure how THIS woman would react.

"Mmm…I LIKE that," she purred like a contented cat.

She materialized in front of him, and this time, instead of wearing the Captain's uniform, she wore a flowing silvery gown that shimmered like stars. The upper part of the gown tantalizingly conformed to her torso. She came closer to him, and she flowed as she walked. If walk she did. It looked to Tom like she glided on a pocket of air, the wide floor length skirt billowing beneath her. It didn't look like she even had legs this time, which gave Tom a shiver.

"Lady, what do you want from me?" he said to the floating apparition, "I don't know what I can do to help you. I don't know how to get out of here myself."

"You've already helped me," she said, "by an ingenious stoke of luck, you've created my escape. It's beautiful!"

Tom realized that she was talking about the vortex. She glided over and reached out to touch it. Her hand seeped though it and dipped into the colorful swirls. She flicked her fingertips and the colored speckles of light splashed out like droplets of water.

"I didn't believe you really would help me, or even could," she said, "Imagine my surprise when you stumbled on to my escape route by mere chance. All these millennia I've been trying desperately to do what you've done in a few hours." She looked at him, smiling, "I could kill you for that." She laughed.

"What's stopping you?" he responded heatedly.

"Lighten up, flyboy, I was only kidding."

That was what the real Marlena Lowry would say. For a brief moment it was as if she were alive again, talking to him and laughing like she used to. He didn't realize how much he missed her. A pang of grief stabbed him. This being, masquerading as Lowry had killed her.

"There I was trying my best to contact your ship," she continued, "Not an easy task considering my thoughts had to travel through dimensional pathways, but contact them I did. By the time they received it, the pattern was too weak to be of any worth to me. Then you made this device…that little thing channeled all my energies into one continuous stream. I now have a pathway by which I can travel to your ship."

Tom glanced down at the emitter in his hand. So this emitter's energy had combined with hers and created a pathway to Voyager. That's where Freud had gone. That was where this creature was planning to go.

"Amazing isn't it," she said, "my very own ship! Not only can I leave here, but I have a chance to release the others who have been trapped like me." She turned to him and it looked to Tom as if she was crying. "I want to give you something as a token of my gratitude," she said, "Something made especially for you."

The Voyager shimmered away to white, and Tom felt the bite of bitter winter cold. He was now standing on a snow-covered mountain. He recognized it right away. It was Mt. L'Orlin, one of the most challenging ski slopes in the Gamma Quadrant. Though Tom always dreamed of it, he never had a chance to go there. Now here he was in snow skis and all ready to tackle the most challenging slopes he'd ever hoped to ski.

"Marlena wanted to surprise you," said the woman, "I don't know how this place would please anyone, but here it is."

The beauty of the unspoiled wilderness touched him deeply. The cloudless sky was of the purest blue and the air was crisp and clear. The real Marlena, who loved writing holonovels, had created a masterpiece, and it was for him. He turned to the being that disguised itself as Marlena. For a brief moment he saw softness in her eyes, but it died, leaving behind the hollowness that he'd become accustomed to.

Behind her, the vortex continued its churning of color and motion. It was more alive than she was. If the emitter caused it, then Tom would have to destroy it. He wouldn't allow her the chance to annihilate the rest of the crew as she did Marlena and the away team.

"Enjoy your winter wonderland, Tom Paris," she said and stepped toward the vortex.

In that second, Tom threw the emitter at the churning mass, knowing that if it went through, the pathway to Voyager would close, saving his shipmates…

But leaving him in much worse predicament indeed.


	12. Brace for Impact

Dr. Freud paced the floor of Voyager's real holodeck, all the time staring at the swirling mass before him. He knew that Paris was in danger, but there was more at stake than just one life.

Freud knew more about the creature in the sphere than he wanted to know. More than he'd admitted to Tom earlier.

She would come through soon and destroy all the lives on this ship. It galled her to think that there were beings living free while she had been pent up in that sphere for…well, forever.

Freud wanted to tell the captain everything he knew, but time was a precious thing, and he had very little of it. Since the moment he stepped through the vortex, his holographic body had begun to dissipate; tiny particles of him were drifting away and dying. The deterioration was barely visible yet, but he could feel its effects.

He had an intimate sense of the sphere's creators. A part of them and remnants of their purpose was left behind eons ago in the construction of the sphere.

The creators were "half children" of the beings that were now held for eternity in the spheres scattered across the galaxies.

The imprisoned ones once called themselves gods. Wielding great power, they commanded many worlds with complete tyranny, indifferent to the suffering caused for the sake of their whims and indulgences.

In the course of time, they had created offspring with the indigenous peoples of those worlds, and all the children were mortal, but had a strong determination and will to survive. They knew the cruelty must end, and the children were the only ones powerful enough to end it. They wouldn't kill the creatures, but they would do the next best thing, imprison them and forbid them contact with any other living thing forever.

Freud didn't know how they accomplished this task, but the sphere was there, so the point was moot. His job now was to save Voyager and possibly the galaxy, and he had to tell Voyager's crew exactly how to do it.

The way was simple, but impossible to explain quickly. Time was slipping away and he could wait no longer. He went to the computer and began to place the information into its memory.

This was done quickly, just a minor download; he could do that easily. Just as he finished, Janeway came in followed by Chakotay and the real doctor.

"Dr. Freud?" inquired Captain Janeway.

"Yes," replied Freud, "I'm so happy to meet you in person, Captain." The Captain turned her attention on the vortex, colors still swimming at its center.

"This is how you came aboard my ship, Dr. Freud?"

"Indeed," he said, "and as long as that pathway stays open, Voyager and her crew are in terrible danger."

"It's pulling energy from our ship, but only a minimal amount," she said.

"There's that," Freud replied, "and the fact that a homicidal life form plans to board your ship through it."

"We're just beginning to study this thing," said Chakotay, "It only appeared a few minutes ago. Do you have any ideas on how to close it? To keep the life form from getting through?"

"It would seem," said Freud, "That Mr. Paris has found a way." He looked though the vortex and saw the snow covered mountain. He knew Tom would destroy the emitter and at the same time wipe out the pathway to Voyager.

Freud could see clearly to the other end of the vortex, though the others could not. He knew what he had to do next. Before jumping back though the portal, he gave his instructions.

"Put up your shields," he said, "there's going to be a shockwave when the vortex collapses. I've given the computer instructions; it's acting on them now, please do not hinder it. There's one chance to neutralize this threat…it's a long shot, but if the shockwave can be repelled back, the sphere will be destroyed."

"I have crewmen down there," Janeway protested, "I can't just-"

"Do it, or you'll lose your entire ship," Freud said, and stepped back through the vortex just as it closed in on itself.

"Red alert," Janeway commanded through her combadge. "Shields on full." To Chakotay she said, "Let's get to the bridge."

Janeway and Chakotay left quickly, the arch closing behind them.

The doctor stood alone on the holodeck, a holo emitter lay at his feet.


	13. Freefall

The Lowry creature must have caught Tom's motion as he hurled the emitter toward the vortex, because she spun around in an attempt to catch it. She threw herself at the flying projectile, but missed it and fell headlong into a snowdrift. Tom instinctively began to back away.

The vortex closed, but not before spitting out Dr. Freud at the last possible moment. He landed in a spray of snow and quickly rose to his feet. He looked at Tom, his eyes wild with urgency; "Go!" he commanded.

Tom just stood bewildered for a moment. What was Freud doing? He saw Lowry lift herself up out of the snow. Her breaths were coming out in furious sobs.

"Go, I said!" repeated Freud, he stepped closer and pushed Tom backward, "Down the slope to the left is the safest way!"

"Are you insane?" said Tom, "That's a 500 meter drop!"

At that moment the wind increased to almost gale force, large black clouds rolled in. Tom fought to steady himself on the slippery skis. He felt the sting of ice and snow on his face and in his eyes.

The wind howled mournfully through a blinding white blizzard. It was her grief, he realized.

"You fool!" she wailed, "Why did you do it? Why?" Her voice boomed over the wind, "That was my last chance! I can't do it again!"

"Go!" shouted Freud, "Now!"

Tom turned, but before he started his run, he looked back. The creature was standing with arms outstretched. Tom had a sinking feeling that she was about to throw her worst at him. Freud must have seen it too, and the EMH launched himself at her, bodily knocking her down.

Tom took his chance and glided down the mountain. To the left, Freud had said, to the left and a sheer drop that would surely be his last. But, he would rather die in a skiing accident than be burnt to a cinder by that creature any day.

Through the whirling snow and ice, he could vaguely tell where he was headed. He assumed he was going left and the drop would be upon him before he knew it. He grazed a boulder with his right ski but managed to keep going. He could see the ridge up ahead. It was coming fast. His heart beat wildly as it approached. His last thoughts, as he hit the edge and felt the weightlessness of his body in freefall, were of regret.

He would never see B'Elanna again, never say goodbye...

Never tell her he loved her.

The ground came closer; he would be crushed on the rocks below. He saw a blinding flash and then all went black.


	14. Closure

Tom thought he was dead.

Darkness surrounded him. He wasn't cold anymore.

Gradually, as his senses awakened, he began to understand where he was. The slickness of snow and sleet had been replaced by the grainy texture of sand. The crisp mountain air had given way to the earthy dank aroma of the cavern.

He tried to sit up, but pain wracked his body. He whimpered through clenched teeth. I've been injured in a fall, he thought groggily. He could taste blood in his mouth. God…

"Tom?" said a voice from far away, "Answer if you hear me."

"B'Elanna?" he murmured. He could hear her voice but it sounded as if it was from a dream. He closed his eyes, felt the heaviness of sleep covering him like a blanket. Sleep…that's all he wanted.

"Answer if you hear me," her voice repeated.

A distant, but lucid part of his mind told him it really was B'Elanna's voice. But where…?

"Tom, please respond," A trace of desperation tinted her words, "Please…"

The combadge on his tunic was working again. He lifted his arm. It felt heavy as if weights had been lashed onto it. Bright pain ignited at his shoulder and spread like fire down to his fingertips. He bit his bottom lip to hold back the agony, to clear his mind for the arduous task of tapping the combadge.

His arm trembled badly, but he finally made contact, "I'm here." His voice was weak, but he knew she heard because of the shouts and whoops in the background.

"Hold on, Tom," she said, her voice finally breaking, "We're coming to get you."

In the days that followed his rescue, Tom was able to piece together much of what happened, though there would always be some lingering questions. The answers to which were lost forever with the destruction of the sphere.

He was essentially whole and well again, though some soreness and bruises remained from the fall. These aches he intended to keep for a while because they reminded him of the reality of what happened.

"Tuvok will love this," Tom had said when he first saw the sphere. For all of Tuvok's Vulcan reserve, he did seem to love it. Every bit of it fascinated him and he studied it intently, the way the ship's shields had been programmed to repulse the shockwave, to how the sphere imploded in on itself.

All of this Freud must have known. He sacrificed himself when he came back to save Tom from certain death. He deliberately sent him to the sphere's weakest point. That area disintegrated and Tom broke through at the moment the shockwave hit.

The close call was something Tom didn't want to think about anymore than he had to. So he pushed it back and focused on the task at hand.

He approached B'Elanna's quarters. Before he had a chance to announce himself, her door swished open and she stepped out.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" she asked.

"I'm sure," he said.

They walked silently down the corridor. B'Elanna was probably trying to give him some space. He didn't mind. As they headed toward the lift, he thought about the memorial service for the away team.

Marlena had been honored very highly. Many of the crew had words to say. She had been a well-respected officer and friend. The memorial was solemn and appropriate, and he thought she would have liked it. It lacked something though, and it took Tom a day or two to figure it out. No one had mentioned Dr. Freud.

So Tom planned a small service, along with the doctor, who insisted on being there.

Freud's emitter, all that they had of him, rested in a small black box. Like Freud, it too, couldn't survive in this world; it was disintegrating. There was enough of it left however, for them to give Freud a proper send off.

After a moment of silence and a few solemn words, they placed the box inside an airlock and released it into space. They watched silently as it drifted out of sight. Tom could have sworn he saw tears in the doctor's eyes.

"He had a good soul," the doctor said.

Now, as Tom and B'Elanna stood in the turbo lift, he silently agreed. Freud must have had a soul. He would never forget him.

When they exited the turbo lift, Harry Kim saw them.

"Tom," he said, "I found some interesting information about this quadrant." He showed Tom the PADD he was carrying. "Different worlds- worlds that have no cultural connection to one another- have very similar myths and legends. They tell about great conflicts between mortals and gods. The similarities are incredible. I think the legends had something to do with that sphere."

Tom took the PADD and studied it for a moment, "Can I borrow this?"

"Yeah," said Harry, "I was bringing it to you."

"Thanks, Harry."

Harry nodded and left.

"That does look interesting," said B'Elanna. Tom casually handed it to her as they arrived at the holodeck.

When they stepped in, the program was already in progress.  
"Beautiful!" said B'Elanna, "Absolutely, beautiful."

"It is," replied Tom. He handed B'Elanna her gear. Then he began to strap on his own skis.

"Lt. Lowry made this, huh?" said B'Elanna.

"Yeah, she did."

"Wow. She had quite a talent."

Tom nodded in agreement. He straightened up, and took in a deep breath of clean cool air. "Yeah, she did."

B'Elanna looked at Tom, tilted her head to one side, and regarded him silently.

Tom chuckled when he saw her expression. He didn't know what B'Elanna was thinking, but he knew it had something to do with he and Marlena.

He drew her close and kissed her softly.

"I wanted to share this with you," he said, "She knew that you and I…" he began, "She knew that I loved you."

B'Elanna returned the kiss, "That's just what I wanted to hear." She held him for a moment, then said, "Are you ready?" she stepped away, preparing herself for the thrilling glide down the slope.

"Ready as I'll ever be," he replied.

"See you at the bottom!" she said as she started off.

"Stay away from the left!" he shouted. She laughed; the echo bounced joyfully though the crisp air.

He pulled his goggles down over his eyes and launched into his descent, "Woo-hoo!" his own voice echoed through the mountains.

-Fin


End file.
